A Cabin in the Woods
by Kypriotha
Summary: The gang heads to a cabin in the woods for a break from war and duty, only to engage in a war of another sorts. Written for Idlesse for Fief Goldenlake's 2015 Wishing Tree (prompt: PotS crew Midwinter holiday in cabin in the wilderness).


The cabin loomed up suddenly in the growing dark of winter twilight, shadowy and foreboding with no lights lit or smoke from the chimney, but a welcome sight to the weary travellers nonetheless. They had been travelling all day, from Corus through the Royal Forest and beyond, and were glad to finally stop.

They entered the cabin that would be their home for the next week and looked around, some wearily, some in relief, and some with anticipation, depending on their natures. This winter holiday had been, surprisingly to some, Prince Roald's idea – the Scanran War was finally over and soon both he and Neal would be wed. He had suggested one last trip away, just their group of friends, before they (mainly he) were called upon to resume the duties of ordinary life.

Already their number was reduced from their page and squire days – Cleon was already married and running his fief, Seaver was still recovering from his injuries from the war and Owen's cousins had just gone through their Ordeals of Knighthood and were spending the rest of the Midwinter holidays with their families. But there were still seven of them who had made this trip and Kel could tell that Roald was quietly pleased that so many were able to make it. Tobe had been persuaded to stay in Corus with Kel's parents (he was much more comfortable letting her out of his sight now he'd adjusted a bit more to life in Corus), so it really felt like old times again.

Kel was the last through the door and put down her bags with a sigh. Stretching her spine out, she looked around at others. Owen was, of course, busy exploring ever corner of the hut, with Esmond patiently trailing behind, making sure he didn't break anything (those of Owen's friends who hadn't spent much time with him since he became Lord Wyldon's Squire tended to still think he would get into mischief if left unsupervised, as he had as a Page). Oddly, the others were all looking at her, Faleron and Merric expectantly, and Neal and Roald looking carefully blank (which was a bit unusual for Neal, though not so much for the Prince).

"What?" she asked, looking between their faces, before realisation slowly dawned. "Oh no. I am _not_ organising this campsite. You are all grown men and full knights. Surely you can work out what jobs need to be done between you!"

"But it goes much more smoothly when there's one person in charge," Faleron said.

"And you're so good at organising things", Merric added, not at all helpfully in Kel's opinion. She scowled at her former co-commander of Haven and New Hope, who just grinned cheerfully back at her. Any reservations he may have held about one of his own year mates being technically in command of him had vanished completely after their Scanran jaunt (as Dom was still wont to call it). He seemed more than happy to let her be in charge of anything and everything now.

She glanced at her other co-commander from the refugee camp. She knew Neal wouldn't offer to take charge himself, but she could usually ( _usually_ – sometimes he decided to be contrary) count on him to back her up.

"Normally I would agree with you that a group of knights should be able to organise themselves effectively without needing a leader. But that usually applies to smaller groups – we may be slightly too large for the dynamics to work effectively without all tripping over each other. So I suggest we split into two groups – one to manage inside, one outside." He gave her a tiny smile. "And, unfortunately for you, my dear Lady Knight, you are the perfect choice to be in charge of one of those groups."

Kel shook her head ruefully at him and looked beseechingly at Roald. "I suggest Owen for the second group," he said calmly.

Everyone stared at him in surprise, including Owen and Esmond, who'd finally come back to join the group. Kel knew he still didn't like putting himself forward for anything (though he'd gotten better at it during the war), but even so, this suggestion surprised her.

Roald grinned at them all, clearly pleased to have rendered them speechless. "He's been trained by my lord Wyldon and served in one of the largest forts during the war, so we know he's good at organisation. Plus, I think it will be good practice for him, for when he starts commanding small groups of men-at-arms on his own."

Kel was surprised (again) when Neal nodded in approval. "As long as he's in your group, I think that would work well. So Kel, Merric and I in one group, since we already know each other routines, and the four of you in the other. We'll take outside tonight and then we can swap tomorrow."

"Good." Roald nodded and looked at his former Page sponsee. "Sir Owen, where would you like us to start?"

Wonderingly, Kel looked as Owen drew himself up and looked around, clearly calculating what needed to be done and who was best to do it. She was impressed at how much Roald had noticed about Owen's character growth in the last few years and how well he would do in this small group of friends. As she followed Neal and Merric outside, she wondered briefly if Neal and Roald had arranged this between themselves before they even left Corus, but she was mostly just glad she didn't have to be in charge of _everyone_.

Once outside, she realised the full beauty of Neal's plan. Working with Merric and Neal, with whom she'd spent so much time in similar situations over the past two years, she didn't have to be in charge at all. They did their work quickly and efficiently, not missing a single task and not getting in each other's way. Her excitement for this trip, which had diminished a bit when she thought it would just be a week of a mini-New Hope (which she loved, she did, but she was glad to be free from the responsibility of commanding it), grew again.

Two days later, the cabin (a very old and rarely used hunting lodge of the Old King) was almost unrecognisable from that first day. The inside had been swept completely clean and fire crackled merrily at the hearth at all times. The windows were sparkling and the stables had been aired out and were now full of the sweet smell of the hay they'd brought with them for the horses. The small amounts of game they'd been able to catch, led ably by Esmond, who was the best tracker of all of them, were strung up in front of the cabin (next to the piles of firewood that Owen had decided to stack in creative patterns).

The cabin itself was, however, at this moment completely deserted by human lifeforms. Occasional shouts could be heard drifting back from the nearby valley, where the seven of them were currently engaged in the most epic snowball fight in all of Tortall. It had been going most of that day, after they had spent a few hours in the morning constructing elaborate traps and hideaways. It was three a side, with Faleron acting as a lone assassin, whose main goal was to cause as much mayhem as possible.

Kel pushed her hair out of eyes and returned to surveying the landscape. An ominous silence had fallen, after a particularly heated battle between Esmond and Roald from her team and Neal and Owen from the other, whilst she and Merric guarded their respective snowball stashes.

The silence was broken by a loud crack from behind her. Kel whirled around and saw the tip of Faleron's head vanish into the pit of one of the traps she and Esmond had built behind their main fort. She sauntered over to grin down at him, confident he would be unhurt, as they had lined the base with piles of leaves and soft snow. He glared back at her.

"I always forget how tricky you and Esmond are," he said, as he valiantly tried to climb out of the pit.

"Well, that's what you get for trying to sneak up on us from behind! You should know I would never leave the rear unprotected."

"Yes, yes, I know, you and Lord Wyldon and your obsession with constant vigilance. Now, will you help me out of here? It's cold!"

Kel cocked her head to the side, pretending to consider it, and choosing not to point out that she'd learned this particular trap from Lord Raoul and the Own. "I'll do it if you help us launch a raid on the other's base."

"Done," Faleron said immediately.

Kel found the rope they'd stashed nearby for this very eventuality and was just bending down to throw it to Faleron when she felt two large thuds on her back. She toppled forward into the pit, narrowly missing Faleron who scrambled to get out of her way. Luckily they had made the pit big enough for two people, so she had plenty of space to fall, and wasn't injured – just winded.

When she got her breath back, she rolled over and saw Neal and Owen looking down into the pit, sporting identical wicked grins (a _very_ unnerving sight, Kel thought).

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Neal drawled, tossing a snowball between his hands. "Two sitting ducks, all ready to be trounced."

Kel scowled at her (supposed) best friend. He really did have a twisted sense of humour. "How did you get away from Esmond and Roald?" she demanded.

"Merric created a diversion and lured them away," Owen answered brightly. He too had a snowball in his hands, ready to throw. "So it's just us and you!"

Faleron nudged Kel and passed her a snowball he'd fashioned from some of the snow at their feet and sides. He had another few ready to go. "Well, we won't go down without a fight!" he called bravely to the other two, who were fully Kel and Faleron's own height above them.

"Technically, you're already down," Neal, ever the pedant, pointed out. "But we're happy to help you lower, if you'd like."

Everyone prepared to throw their snowballs, when a large, soft, mushy one hit Neal squarely on the side of his face. The look of outrage and surprise on his face was so funny that Kel couldn't help laughing. More snowballs quickly came flying at him and Owen and they were forced to turn around and defend themselves. Kel could hear Esmond and Roald shouting in the distance and assumed they had gotten away from Merric's diversion, whatever it was, and were now engaging Owen and Neal in battle once more.

Owen and Neal moved out of their line of sight from the pit, so soon Kel and Faleron couldn't see anything but sky and trees. The sound of shouting and flying snowballs filled the air around them.

Kel looked at Faleron and shrugged and moved around to find a better sitting position. "You should probably make yourself comfortable," she advised Faleron. "I think we might be here for a while."


End file.
